Tippett's AFL hearing hangs over Crows

Adelaide players start their AFL pre-season on Monday as the Crows struggle with the biggest crisis in their 21-year history.

The Crows are facing massive penalties if the AFL Commission find against them over the 2009 deal they struck with Kurt Tippett.

The key forward's immediate AFL future is in limbo, pending the outcome of the commission hearing.

Tippett, the Crows and Adelaide officials are facing charges of draft tampering and breaches of player payment rules.

Officially, Tippett is still an Adelaide player, but he is also out of contract and will not train with the Crows this week when they return.

He wants a trade to Sydney and could register for the December 11 pre-season draft.

Adelaide were unable to strike a deal with the Swans during the trade period and now Greater Western Sydney have made it clear they will try to recruit Tippett.

The storm broke during the trade period when it was revealed the Crows were under AFL investigation for the lucrative three-year deal they struck with Tippett.

The commission hearing was supposed to start on Monday, but it was postponed after a request from Adelaide and their football manager Phil Harper.

The league granted the delay to give Harper, who was only charged last week, and the Crows more time to prepare their legal defence.

Tippett, Adelaide chief executive Steven Trigg, Harper and former Crows football operations manager John Reid have all been charged as a result of the investigation.

The delay means Adelaide can participate in Thursday's AFL draft on the Gold Coast.

The league want the hearing to happen before the pre-season draft and are now scrambling to find dates that suit as many members of the commission as possible.

Given the high stakes involved, the hearing will probably last more than one day.

The Crows sent a letter to their members last week, insisting they had not intended to break league rules when they struck the 2009 deal with Tippett.

At the heart of the controversy is a reported third-party agreement the Crows used to help secure the 2009 contract with Tippett.

Apart from the massive fines and draft penalties that would hit the Crows if the commission find against them, Trigg and Harper are also under immense pressure.

Leading Melbourne QC David Galbally, who will represent Tippett at the hearing, insists his client has done nothing wrong.

Player third-party deals are increasingly under the spotlight, with the AFL declaring last week that Carlton captain Chris Judd's much-publicised agreement with recycling giant Visy must now come under the club salary cap.

Judd's management has said it will fight the AFL's decision.

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